Opportunity Network opens doors

As kids head back to school, some will miss days of fun in the sun. But others will remember days of hard work at their summer jobs. Now, one New York City program is hoping that those summer jobs are life-changing for the students lucky enough to get them. While her friends headed to the beach this summer, Cecilia Solis headed to work. Her commute takes her from Washington Heights to Midtown Manhattan, to an office in the sky at a global private equity firm.

The 18-year-old is pretty focused, and that's part of the reason Apax Partners hired her for the summer.

The firm found Cecilia through the Opportunity Network, a non-profit that works with high-performing public schoolers and helps them not only get into great colleges, but also helps them network.

Cecilia graduated as valedictorian from her high school, and she's the first in her family to head to college. She's at Vassar, and this was her third paid internship.

She says she was a bit timid to apply to this opportunity, but the folks at Apax are thrilled she did. They even kept her on an extra week.

"The experience for the intern is terrific," Apax' Jason Wright said. "We get a lot of satisfaction."

"Our job is to open the door for these students," Opportunity Network founder Jessica Pliska said. "And then it's their responsibility to walk through them."

And it looks like this young woman is walking through them on her way to the top.

The Opportunity Network now has 100 students from 40 New York City schools. It's first class of students, who started with the program in 2002, are all gainfully employed.